Simple Simon Pies

In 1985, Bob Whitworth wanted a beef and onion pie. “I had a hankering,” Bob says. “So I took my English pie press and made myself a few pies. After my friends tried them, I made some more and went to a local farmers' market.” By 2014, Bob had a 10,000-square-foot kitchen and a host of employees. Simple Simon Pies was making around 10,000 pies, over 5,000 litres of soup, and a few thousand meals every single week.

“The idea of a ready-to-eat supper is very appealing,” Bob says. “Like those TV dinners, but far superior. When I lived in London, England, my job was a two-hour train ride from home. So I would put a pie in the oven and set the timer to turn on 30 minutes before I got home. By the time I got there, my dinner was ready. Simple and easy, put it in the oven and wait.”

Throughout the years, Bob has run the business with a neighbourly approach. “In the first farmers' market – which has since relocated – I was beside a guy who sold soups. I didn’t need to make soups, nor would I want to. It wouldn’t be a very neighbourly thing to do.”